The Common Good
Dear Luther Community,
Over the past two years, the Luther College community engaged in a robust dialogue about its identity, purpose, direction, and commitments. We identified core values, revised our mission statement, and articulated identity and vision statements. This new set of elements was affirmed by Luther’s Board of Regents in July and incorporated into the rhythms and rituals of the campus community at the annual Service of Dedication in August, which gathers and grounds faculty and staff at the beginning of each academic year.
Taken together with our compass points (Honesty, Hope, Pride, and Belief), the new elements will support the focus the broader Luther community needs to thrive during a tumultuous time for society in general and higher education in particular. The elements provide clarity about WHO we are (identity statement), WHAT we do (mission statement), WHERE we are going (vision statement), and WHY we act (core values). You can learn more about these elements at luther.edu/about/mission. I look forward to sharing and discussing them at a series of alumni gatherings over the 2025–26 academic year.
We last revised our mission statement in 2006. While the new elements honor the past and look to the future, what bridges the former mission statement and the new elements is a defining aspect of Luther College and its community: a focus on the common good.
Luther is a place of intersection. It’s a community called and empowered to serve the neighbor so that all may flourish. This issue of the Luther magazine contains many examples of those intersections and calls: stories of recent graduates who’ve been inspired and equipped to courageously serve the common good; stories of Luther alumni serving the neighbor; stories of Luther elevating individuals, communities, and society, one graduate at a time.
Spend some time with these stories. Share these stories with someone who doesn’t know Luther. This is who we are. This is what we do. We are called. And we are capable.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Bradley M. Chamberlain
President